Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday - Books About Friendship


This is a link up with The Broke and The Bookish. This week's Top Ten Tuesday is our top ten books about friendship.  I've been reading a lot of contemporary romance/fiction lately and most of them feature a strong friendship theme but often the friendship is mainly there to help provide continuation for the series.  It's not a bad thing and most of them time it feels like the characters are actually friends but their friendship isn't really a major feature of the story.  The ten I chose are ten that I feel the friendship was really important to the development of the story or character or that really make me feel that friendship develops or strengths over the coarse of the story.

1.  Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - This book is just crisscrossed with friendship.  There's the obvious Anne and Diana, then there's Anne and Gilbert, Marilla and Rachel, Marilla and Matthew, Matthew and Anne, Gilbert's friendship with the boys in school, Anne's friendships with the girls in school, Anne's friendship with Aunt Josephine, Anne's friendship with Miss Stacey.  LOTS of friendships.  The book is pretty much a big giant log book of friendships with some other events thrown in.  As each friendship develops Anne becomes a little more at home.

2 . Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Really all the books involving Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings.  While they drive each other crazy these two really in truly are friends.  The Mysterious Affair at Styles is where we first meet them and they first meet each other.

3.  84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - If you haven't read this lovely little book told in letter form you really really should.  Here we meet actress Helene Hanff writing to a bookstore in London to find beautiful books.  She meets Frank Doel and an unlike friendship develops.  It's really a charming book.

4.  The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson (Review) - Piper has just about given up on everything in this odd mix of dystopian and steampunk.  She mostly wants to be left alone and work on her machines.  That is until Anna stumbles into her life and she decides to take the girl back to where she belongs.  During their journey a friendship emerges and through it Piper finds where she's meant to be.

5.  Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski (Review) - This book about a flu vaccine which gives a bunch of 15 year olds the ability to read minds is all about friendship teenage style and is enough to make me glad that the teenage years are very far behind me.

6.  Home to Seaview Key by Sherryl Woods (Review) - The friendship between Hannah and Abby is really the star of this book.  These are 2 women who were best friends all through childhood and up until they graduated high school and then they went their separate ways.  Hannah is married to Abby's high school boyfriend but is recovering from cancer and not feeling her best so is intimidated by Abby's put togetherness.  Abby is out of a bad marriage and worse divorce and really needs a friend.  I loved that these two were honest with each other and were able to try and work through their issues.

7.  The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - When this book starts married couple Jack and Mabel are very much alone even though they are together.  However, as their friendship with the little girl develops as does their friendship with a neighboring family and finally each other.

8.  The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - The friendship between Eliza and Rose really is what drives everything that happens in this book.

9.  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Spoiled little Mary Lennox has no one - especially not friends.  However, when she comes to Misselthwaite Manor this begins to change as does her spoiled selfish nature.  First there's the housemaid Martha, then there's her brother Dickon and finally a little boy as unhappy and spoiled as Mary named Colin.  As the friendships develop so does Mary's personality.

10. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas - This whole series is really about friendship as 4 women who really don't fit in for various reasons become friends on the edges of London ballrooms.  However, this one is my favorite so it's the one I'm talking about.  It's Evie's friendship with Annabelle, Lillian and Daisy that drives her away from them in order to protect them.  It's Evie's friendship with St. Vincent and Cam that keeps her safe.  It's Evie's friendship with Lillian and St. Vincent's with Westcliff that protects them both.

20 comments:

  1. i couldn't agree more about #2! there's is one of my favorite friendships. i wish i'd thought to add it to my own list. :)

    www;she-read.blogspot.com

    following!

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    1. It is one of my favorite friendships partly because they so obviously drive each other crazy and partly because they're so obviously fond of each other!

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  2. I LOVE 84, Charing Cross Road but didn't think of putting it on my list--but it is such a wonderful example of a long distance friendship!
    Have you read Q'S Legacy by Hanff? It tells the story of how she came to write 84, and what happened afterwards. I highly recommend it!

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    1. It is a wonderful little book! I reread it periodically thinking it can't possibly be as good as I remember but it always is!

      I haven't read Q's Legacy. I remember hearing about it but I never got around to finding it and then forgot about it. I read the Duchess of something or other which was a sequel. I enjoyed it but not quite as much. Will definitely have to hunt down Q's Legacy.

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  3. I didn't know that's what Don't Even Think About It was about. Now I'll have to read it!
    Check out my Top 10

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    1. It was fun book though I know a lot of people complained it was too angst-y! I thought it was pretty realistic for a class of 10th graders.

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  4. The Forgotten Garden is on my TBR list for my vacation this summer :) Great list!

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    1. I hope you enjoy it! People seem to fall firmly into a love or hate camp with Morton's books. I very much fell into the loved it side!

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  5. I haven't read The Secret Garden in years but I do love that book and the friendship in it. I'm always recommending that one. I see a bunch of other books though that I've got to read, like The Forgotten Garden which I bought years ago. Great list Katherine :)
    Thanks for stopping by my TTT :)
    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

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    1. The bought years ago comment made me smile. I do that ALL the time. I only reread The Secret Garden because it was a free Kindle book but I really enjoyed it as an adult. Thanks for visiting!

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  6. Excellent choice, including some I wouldn't have thought of (like Hercule Poirot and Hastings).

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    1. Thanks! Poirot and Hastings are fresh in my mind because I'm doing a massive Agatha reread! Also I'm watching Sherlock and the relationship is kind of similar but I like Hastings/Poirot better!

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  7. Anne of Green Gables!! Yes! When I started to think about this week's topic I decided to skip it because thinking up friendships hurt my head. LOL! I've been meaning to read Kate Morton for ages and so I'll have to put that one on my list, too.

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    1. People seem to either love or hate Morton in general and this book in particular. I really enjoyed it and want to read more of her books! This topic took a little thinking! For awhile I couldn't come up with any books just about friendship, then I came up with hundreds of books that feature friendship. I tend to overthink which doesn't help!

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  8. I've only read The Secret Garden from your list, and would have to agree about it belonging there. I don't think I've read the Agatha Christie one you mention, although it's been so long--who knows?

    Great list!

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    1. The Agatha is Poirot's (and Agatha's for that matter) first book. It's a good mystery with some interesting characters. Worth the read if you like Agatha or are wanting to do any rereads.

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  9. Ooh, I loved 84 Charing Cross Road! What a good idea to include it on this list... it's definitely time for a reread.

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    1. I've been thinking the same thing! It's such a great book! I tried to watch the movie not too long ago and it definitely did not capture the spirit of the book.

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